Cakes and Conversations
by MzDany
Summary: An answer to a request for an EijiSouta ficlet that includes cake, a park and a rainy day. Preslash.


_A/N: Spoilers for Task 43, and a small reference to Task 38._

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Cakes and Conversations  
By Dany 

"So you don't think it's greedy of Natsuki to demand you go out and get more Sucre Cake the day after Christmas when she had two huge slices of yesterday's cake?" Eiji demanded to know as he fell into step besides Souta on the sidewalk. Each man was balancing a cardboard box in his hands with the logo of the bakery they had just left printed on top. "And two at that!"

Souta gave the former Ashu-watcher an indulgent smile. "I got two just in case. Whatever she won't polish off today she can just put in the freezer. And she didn't exactly _demand _it…"

"No, she just kept on whining that there wasn't enough until _you_ finally agreed to hunt down some more. Should have been Akashi's job in the first place."

"Well, it's wrong to see a lady be sad and do nothing about it," Souta declared, earning an amused snort from Eiji.

"Man, she _so_ knows how to push your buttons."

Souta held off on his reply until they had crossed a busy street and entered the little public park that served as their shortcut back to the SGS museum.

Twenty minutes ago, before they entered the bakery, grey clouds had gathered, obstructing the sun. Now the whole sky was blanketed by a layer of dark anthracite and the scent of ozone was becoming noticeably stronger.

"Natsuki knows how to push everyone's buttons," the High Up Adventurer said as he led the way down a gravel path that rounded a picturesque pond. He was about to launch into a recital of an entire list of recipients of BoukenYellow's charming manipulative skills when the first drops of water hit them.

Eiji just looked up at the sky in exasperation while Souta's expression turned distinctly worried. "Oh no, the cakes! Those cardboards are not much thicker than paper; they're not going to last!"

"Over there!" Eiji used his chin to indicate a little round gazebo a few yards ahead of them, and at a trot the two Boukengers took off towards that only shelter in sight. The skies opened up just as they sprinted up the few steps that led beneath the pagoda roof. There they stood indecisively for a moment, looking out onto rain that should - in all actuality, given the season - have been snow, until Eiji moved to sit down on the only piece of furniture, a white wooden park bench behind them. Souta shrugged and did likewise.

"Hopefully this is just another one of those five-minute downpours," he said, his gaze fixed on a steady dribble of raindrops onto the wooden floorboards from a small leak in the roof a foot or two in front of him. "We _have been_ getting a lot of those lately."

Next to him, Eiji made a noncommittal noise, then turned his head and said in his usual, to-the-point manner, "So you like her, don't you?"

Souta blinked, momentarily confused. "What? Who?"

"Natsuki, of course. Weren't we just talking about her?"

The former spy had to chuckle at that. "I like her as a comrade and friend, but other than that…" He shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning upwards. "Besides, Masumi would kill me if I ever tried anything."

Eiji grinned, too. "Yeah, you're probably right."

For a moment they listened to the steady pummeling of water on the roof, but the silence didn't last long.

"So – what about Sakura, then?"

This time, Souta thought for a second before he responded. "I have the deepest respect for Sakura-neesan. I admire her cool-headedness during battle and her dedication to her work…"

"But?"

"I thought that would be obvious," Souta said, toying with the cake box. "She's in love with Chief. And I'm pretty sure those feelings to both ways, but neither of those two fools is making a move."

Eiji inclined his head in agreement. "Yeah, they've been dancing around each other since I joined you guys."

"Since before that."

The Dazzling Adventurer chuffed. "So with both Natsuki and Sakura pretty much spoken for – where does that leave _you_?"

Souta cast him a wry look. "With a cat."

Now it was Eiji's turn to fiddle with the cardboard box, adjusting its position on his lap and running a finger along the kanji character of the bakery's name. When he looked back up after a longer moment, he looked the other man straight in the eye, and there was something in that gaze that Souta couldn't quite place.

"That's too bad, Souta-san. It shouldn't be like that."

Around their little shelter, the rain suddenly ceased as abruptly as it had started, as if to confirm Souta's earlier prediction of the five-minute-shower. Neither man spared the diminished downpour a look, too preoccupied with staring at each other.

Souta's mind was working frantically; what was Eiji signaling him? Was he even signaling him anything at all?

Mogami Souta preferred women, but that did not mean that he was averse to the feel of a solid, muscular body every now and then. Although it had been quite some time, he distinctly recalled some very pleasant memories from back in his days as an active spy. It had usually happened as a means to decompress from long and tough missions, and the encounters had always been with fellow agents of likewise dispositions. Afterwards there were never any bad blood or negative repercussions, only the knowledge that, when required, there _were_ people to turn to for this sorely needed stress-relief.

But Eiji…

With a start Souta realized that he really didn't know anything about Eiji in that respect. He had never seen him flirt with anyone, neither woman nor man, and he didn't seem to be flirting _now_, just that intense gaze, but…_were_ the corners of his mouth upturned just the slightest bit? So hard to tell. There was also an amused twinkle in those chocolate-brown eyes. Or was there?

A noise of frustration was working its way up Souta's throat, but he caught himself just in time and held it in. He was usually very good at guessing people's intentions, but for some reason he couldn't get a reading from the handsome half-Ashu. Was Eiji giving him a sign, or was his spy-intuition playing tricks on him?

Souta gave an inward shrug; if he couldn't gage Eiji's intent, there was only one other way to find out…Straightening his shoulders resolutely, he turned on the Souta-smile and took the plunge.

"Tell you what – I have some plastic forks and paper plates in my room. We'll let Natsuki have her cake, but the other one we'll share at my place.  
"If you want to," he added carefully, but Eiji held his scrutinizing gaze while he nodded.

"Sounds good to _me_."

Beyond the gazebo, water was still dripping from branches and leaves, but the rain itself had by now died down to only the merest drizzle. The two treasure hunters picked up their cake boxes and left their wooden shelter. They crossed the park at a swift pace, hurrying to reach SGS headquarters, and it had nothing to do with the desire to get the Sucre cake to the Strong Adventurer in a timely manner.

As they ascended the concrete steps to the museum entrance, Souta cast Eiji a surreptitious side glance.

Maybe all they would end up doing would be just that – eating cake. _But maybe…_

Pushing through the glass doors, Souta smiled to himself. But maybe, if he had just found a like-minded man in Takaoka Eiji – well, all the better!

THE END


End file.
